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Before I got started in accounting, I was a pre-veterinary major in college and wasn’t doing that great in organic chemistry. I had to rethink my career goals, and in talking with my dad’s CPA, I got excited about the opportunities there.
Like most accountants, I came out of school thinking I wanted to be a partner at a big firm, and then I got there and realized what it takes and how much blood, sweat, and tears you have to put in. Eventually, that realization led me to general accounting roles at technology and pre-IPO companies, where I discovered what I really enjoyed doing—managing teams, building workflows, and implementing tech stacks from the ground up.
Over my 35 years in accounting, I have seen our industry’s evolution firsthand. Success has always been tied to being as efficient as possible, and that means having the right amount of technology, the right types of processes, and the right people in place. Those three areas are essential in building a high-performing accounting function and are the keys to navigating any new trends that come our way.
Trend #1: Accounting Staffing Shortages
According to Bloomberg, there are 340,000 fewer accountants in the United States compared to five years ago, highlighting a significant shortage in the accounting profession. These reports indicate a large gap between the number of available accountants and the increasing demand for our kinds of services. Not to mention, this shortage is causing serious concerns about potential financial inaccuracies for businesses. This is a staggering statistic and begs the question, are accounting majors declining? Are people still learning these skills in school? If this is a permanent change, we as finance professionals need to understand what that means for our own companies and how we build our future teams.
Advice: Hire for Traits, Not Credentials
The key things I look for in new hires are their ability to problem solve and their intellectual curiosity. We can teach them accounting, but those natural traits are instinctive. I once hired someone for a revenue role a couple of jobs back, and his degree was in psychology. He had done some work in accounting and revenue, but he had the ability to analyze a problem independently and come back with options and solutions that could directly tackle that problem. That’s the thing I look for more than if they came from a great school. Sometimes, people with these traits do have public accounting backgrounds, but it’s their innate talents that really make them a great hire. Certainly, it was a risk to hire someone without an accounting education, but it was the best choice for our team.
Trend #2: New Accounting Guidelines
There are many changes in the accounting guidance world that are taking effect. For example, there are upcoming reporting requirements around ESG, even for private companies. According to Moss Adams, this may mean that companies will need to assess and disclose the environmental impacts of their suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders within their value chains. Even if you think you’re small enough not to fall under this umbrella of reporting, you still want to ensure that you’re prepared once you get to that stage or if those requirements are lowered. Typically, that’s not something accounting teams would report on, so it’s a new development for us. Additionally, there’s always new accounting and finance-specific guidance that directly affects us, and we have to make sure that we have the right processes and systems in place in order to handle that kind of reporting.
Advice: Standardize Your Processes
With all these changes coming down on the accounting side, it’s essential to figure out how you’re going to meet new accounting and reporting requirements. Accounting, and specifically accounts payable, is no longer viewed as a back-office function. It’s becoming a more strategic role within the organization, increasingly involved in cash flow forecasting, vendor negotiations, and process improvements. One way to ensure your team is set up for success is to standardize your workflows—how do we make sure we have the right processes in place to be able to address new changes and requirements? This could mean improving workflow management by adding security reviews or treating purchase requisitions as a workspace for team collaboration. You could consider moving more payments to credit cards to take advantage of rebates or implement a solution that automatically sends out approved POs directly to your vendors. No matter the process improvement, make sure it’s set up as a rule, documented, and communicated across your team.
Trend #3: Consumerization of Technology
With the rapid advancement of technology and AI in accounting and accounts payable, it’s not about whether or not you’re going to adopt new solutions but what you’re going to adopt. According to Forbes, companies that have been burdened by complex workflows and outdated processes are now using advanced, automated technologies to pay other businesses in the same ways as they pay bills at home. With so many solutions available in the market, all seemingly with advanced AI capabilities, B2B buying decisions are evolving in a very B2C way—we now want our solutions to be as frictionless, secure, and easy as the consumer apps we use every day.
Advice: Buy for Features
First, organizations implemented cloud-based platforms to manage accounts payable operations anytime, anywhere. Now, AI is emerging as the new feature that’s accelerating onboarding, monitoring and paying out vendors, assessing potential risks, and increasing bill coding accuracy. Next, it could be advanced data analytics tools that track spending patterns, optimize working capital, and predict future trends. Or it could be AP accrual automation that automatically records anticipated expenses that haven’t yet been invoiced. No matter the feature, it’s important to understand what functionality you need for your specific operations and adopt the technology solution that can grow with you. Keep “ease of use” in mind as well—as B2B starts to look more B2C, a true “touchless” future might come sooner than we think.
Looking Forward: Encourage a Culture of Innovation
If efficiency is the most important thing in accounting, it’s the people, processes, and technology that get us there. But we can’t build the best team and the best function if we never innovate and take risks. Don’t be afraid to try new technologies. Don’t be afraid to hire people that don’t have an accounting background. And don’t be afraid to put processes in place that make things easier for your team.
A culture of innovation is about staying open-minded and tackling the things that are hard. I’ve tried to maintain this throughout my career. Use those intuitive skill sets, implement better practices, and help your team advance to the next level—you’ll find you can maximize any new trends that come your way.
If you have any questions or want to talk further, feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or download our guide below to learn more about today’s finance trends and foundational strategies.
